Are US motels a safe space for things like illict affairs / drug deals or is that just in the movies?
Posted by Andthensome_Pie_7322@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 226 comments
American movies make it seem like a major point of motels is for people to conduct illicit affairs or do other things like drug deals, or take drugs or see prostitutes
Is there some truth to this -- do motels serve as this kind of safe space for illicit or illegal activity?
They look wholesome from the outside ...
Individual-Schemes@reddit
This isn't a "US" thing. There are spaces for hook ups and drug benders in every major city on the planet.
Wherever you're from, your biggest cities have these spaces. Get out more.
Andthensome_Pie_7322@reddit (OP)
Japan has love hotels , that is what the Q is inspired by
Amazing_Divide1214@reddit
It's a relatively common space for these types of activities. I don't think there's really a "safe" way to take part in these activities though, unless you're like "Epstein Rich."
DanDamage12@reddit
A lot of motels require you to leave a credit card and contact info for incidentals. I don’t know if motels these days do that same, but back then you could pay cash and some places you could pay hourly. So if you needed a cheap and anonymous place to do your thing, seedy motels were it.
BusyBullet@reddit
It is not the primary use of motels but yes, some shit goes down in motels.
You’ll know how much illicit activity is happening from the parking lot.
If it feels sus, it is.
SlamClick@reddit
Cheap hotels are good for parties. Expensive hotels are good for drugs.
Both are good for affairs.
jade420420@reddit
what is super loud? and do you typically know if someone is doing something more? i feel like hotel workers must have fun stories and insights but i havent heard many
Silver_Breakfast7096@reddit
Mostly trashy hotels. If this goes on in Nice places it’s a under the radar. I’m sure this isn’t just America, BTW.
turdferguson3891@reddit
Motel 6 is reasonably priced, will let you have two dogs for free and if you want to do meth with your meth whore they'll leave the light on for you.
JonMatrix@reddit
Tom? Is that you?
Betty_Boss@reddit
Who the heck was Tom Bodett anyway? He always said his name like we should know.
wolferiver@reddit
Link
Outside_Complaint755@reddit
He was involved with a number of shows on NPR, which is where the Motel6 marketing guy first heard him. Not sure if he still is a contributor. He's also written some books.
JonMatrix@reddit
I believe he used to be semi well known for radio, that’s off the top of my head though.
Useful-Ad-3889@reddit
There is nothing you are going to do in a La Quinta or a motel 6 or Super 8 other than sin
Cocacola_Desierto@reddit
"safe" space is a strong descriptor
It is a space to do them in, one of many.
salty_new_england@reddit
One of my dads buddies was having an affair with one of teachers at my school (I learned this as an adult). They would go to one of the motels in the next town over which he called “Fuck City”.
So yes, a lot of shit goes down in motels.
Mirabeaux1789@reddit
I know it’s terrible but “fuck city” made me burst out laughing
the_elderchild@reddit
Me too 😂
punkwalrus@reddit
"We built this city... We built this city on sluts and hos...!"
Klutzy-Comment6897@reddit
So say many cities.
FriendWinter9674@reddit
Not to be confused with "pound town"
From_Deep_Space@reddit
or Central Coitusberg
Forlorn_Cyborg@reddit
Or even “Flavor Town, with The Triple D!”
Mirabeaux1789@reddit
😂
HahaHarleyQu1nn@reddit
To be fair, if you’re lucky you can get to both in one night
___coolcoolcool@reddit
Check your lease, man, because you’re living in Fuck City!
salty_new_england@reddit
I just about died when my dad told me that one
egm5000@reddit
Me too!
shelwood46@reddit
I live in the Poconos, which is famously a place where people do weekend getaways with perhaps not their spouses (but also their spouses). There was a hotel/motel/resort down the resort from me that had heart-shaped beds and champagne glass hot tubs that advertised to honeymooners but also got a lot of, um, non-honeymooners. We locals called it The Fuck Palace. It's closed now, it's a yoga retreat. I hope they burned all the heart-shaped mattresses.
MelissaOfTroy@reddit
Beautiful Mount Aerie Lodge
Boeing367-80@reddit
Airy. Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Airy_Lodge?wprov=sfla1
NowWatchMeThwip616@reddit
Doing "yoga" at place formerly known as a fuck palace. Kinda sounds like a euphemism for an upscale fuck palace where every room comes with a copy of the Kama Sutra.
shelwood46@reddit
A local guy running for town committee once buttonholed me at my polling place proudly telling me that he'd blocked our town from allowing a strip club, not 200 feet from this place. I just stared at him.
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
My reply: well I’m not voting for you then.
jokesinbasements@reddit
Was it this place?
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/s/9qYb924dqP
shelwood46@reddit
Nope, the Pocono Palace (the resort chain that owned them still have a couple locations if you need that champagne hot tub fix).
CURRYmawnster@reddit
But do they have vibration beds which you feed quarters to keep it going??
Enough-Moose-5816@reddit
This leaves both nothing to the imagination and everything to the imagination.
Understruggle@reddit
Yes it sounds both amazing and terrifying at the same time. Like the motto of the town is “Everyone leaves here with a story!” and you don’t realize it’s actually kind of ominous until your on the wrong side of it with no cell service standing next to a boarded up Church’s chicken.
abbarach@reddit
In the seedier parts of town you can often find a motel that will rent rooms by the hour. I'll leave imagining reasons why someone might want a motel room for only an hour or two as an exercise to the reader.
See also: no-tell motel
Quirky-Invite7664@reddit
Kids in my high school used to rent by the hour, lol.
STS986@reddit
I would say they’re a common location. Especially if they offer hourly rates
Classic-Push1323@reddit
It’s just a cheap place to sleep. They have no way to know what you do in your room.
Hotels aren’t any different, but they are more expensive so there’s a higher bar. There’s still plenty of prostitution and drug use going on.
No, it’s not the point of motels. The point is a low cost lodging option for anyone who needs it - mostly travelers.
shelwood46@reddit
I make a road trip to visit friends every summer and stop halfway and stay at a Motel 6 off the interstate. I have mostly encountered truckers and other road trippers, but who knows. That said, there are some hotels & motels that will not rent to locals for the above stated reasons.
Pale_Row1166@reddit
You can always tell by the price and ratings whether it’s a trap motel or not. If it’s significantly cheaper than everything nearby and has less than a 4 rating, you’ll likely be able to purchase more than just a good night’s sleep at the motel.
MNMystery@reddit
Usually it’s drugs. Models don’t really care about affairs as long as both parties are of legal age.
jokesinbasements@reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/s/9qYb924dqP
phicks_law@reddit
did one guy film every client for a crazy amount of years at one of his motels? I remember reading an actual preiodical about it while waiting for the dentist a while back.
TheVentiLebowski@reddit
He wasn't filming, just watching. Still super creepy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Foos
bord_de_lac@reddit
American Dad did a surprisingly great episode based on this incident
The https://americandad.fandom.com/wiki/The_Clearview_Motel
BraveStrategy@reddit
Many motels can’t see who goes in and out of the rooms while hotels you have to go through a main lobby. That ends lots of sketchy activity right there.
Engine_Sweet@reddit
A lot of hotels have side doors where you can enter with your key card.
You're mostly on camera either way nowadays
Vincitus@reddit
In the old days (and many old cheap motels) you just walked from the parking lot into your room, or up a flight of external stairs and into your room - there's really no one looking or paying attention to what you're doing.
SantasDead@reddit
Thats the point of a motel....a hotel for motorists.
Drive up and park right in front of your door.
shelwood46@reddit
Depends on the set up and size. I've been in hotels with back entrances, once you've checked in you don't need to ever go in the lobby again, much like motels. Many newer motels have interior room access rather than the older pull-up model (new Motel 6s are designed this way) so you do have to go through the lobby. Some small motels have rooms the managers can see from the office easily. Also, making meth isn't the only kind of crime. Lots of high end hotels still get lots of sketchy clientele if the location is amenable.
tegeus-Cromis_2000@reddit
The advantage of motels is that you can go straight from your car into the room and don't have to walk through lobbies, hallways, take elevators, etc. Much easier this way to keep from prying eyes things you don't want to be seen, such as illicit merchandise or your illicit partner.
Maximum_Dweeb4473@reddit
Dress well and have decent taste with who you accompany yourself with, and the nice hotels don’t bat an eye.
I never understood guys with money doing their extracurricular activities at shitty dumps.
I’ve never once run into someone I know at the nicer hotels near me. Why would they be at the Marriott 15 minutes from home? They aren’t.
reddock4490@reddit
Eh, it depends on the motel. There are plenty of two story downtown motels near interstate overpasses that may have been primarily for travelers when they were built, but definitely just serve as like a WeWork trap house now
82ndoc@reddit
'WeWork Traphouse' has me dying. You aint wrong though.
RhinoPillMan@reddit
I lived out of a Motel 6 for quite a while, probably over a year. Lots of drug dealing and using, prostitution, fights, everything. Police were always there. It may be different in other parts of the country, I’m in a major metropolitan area.
ermghoti@reddit
Tom Bodett, is that you?
Maxpowr9@reddit
Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn.
dadasinger@reddit
I got stuck at one for 3 days waiting for a car repair in Barstow of all places, and it was long enough to get a feel for the "community" there. There was a guy with a hoarder van parked under my room, and he would sit in there a long time in the morning moving things around, there was just enough room for him in the driver seat.
sadthrow104@reddit
Those hoarder vans really scream ‘margins of society’
silkywhitemarble@reddit
I (alone!) stayed overnight at a truck stop in Phoenix once, because the Motel 6 (hell, all the motels I came across there!) had crackheads and people just hanging out in front of it! I was afraid to get out and check the rates! Motel 6 is my mom's favorite Motel chain when we travel, but some of them are sketchy as hell!
MNMystery@reddit
If you’re ever in Mankato, MN, the Motel 6 there is nice. That said, some of them really are bad.
rebby2000@reddit
It's not - at least nowdays. Tbf, more and more people are moving into motels because rent prices are insane.
RhinoPillMan@reddit
That’s why most of us were in there. It costs more monthly than renting an apartment, but you don’t need $4-5000 up front to move in. Still, a huge portion of people staying there were just in for the night and were getting high or selling themselves. I never had an issue with that, everyone left me alone except the occasional dealer asking if I “party”.
CheeseMongoNJ@reddit
Safe? Not exactly sure about that, and I'm taking the 5th on this question......
Churlish_Performer@reddit
Virtually all the hotels near my house, for the most part, are virtually all as you described. I stayed at one when I went to Kentucky a couple years ago and frankly yeah - total meth/ poverty palace. Just south of me though - true motel row with old roach coach style rooms. Those are all very very sus. Certainly, that's where prostitutes live - and their dealers.
bigfatfurrytexan@reddit
I always just let my dude in the parking lot of a convenience store
rocketcat_passing@reddit
The No-Tell-Hotel
Plus_Carpenter_5579@reddit
They look dumpy from the outside. it's not so safe. It's just there.
Numerous_Delay_6306@reddit
lol they don't care, you're there just to sleep at cheap
ssk7882@reddit
Yes, some are, but they're unlikely to be the same motels that you'll be likely to be staying in as a tourist, so if that's your concern, please don't worry too much about it. The motels that serve as vice dens are generally in run-down, often unsafe parts of cities where you'd be unlikely to find yourself as a visitor.
Generally speaking, if a motel "looks wholesome" from the outside, then it's unlikely to be one of the motels that operate as a base for a ton of illicit activity.
StillC5sdad@reddit
You can sell your drugs wherever you want
GreenBeanTM@reddit
My long distance (ex) boyfriend would rent a motel room when I went to visit him. Turns out he was married so the illicit affair part is covered, and while I never actually saw anything illegal happen I’m fairly certain at least some drug deals happened there. Mostly it just seemed like people who couldn’t afford to rent an apartment, but there were 2-3 times walking to or from our room he made sure to “claim me” by walking extra close and putting an arm around my waist just as extra insurance the people we were walking near didn’t try anything.
Usagi_Shinobi@reddit
This is one of those "well yes, but actually no" situations. The motel format is designed to be a simple, inexpensive, no frills, easily accessible place for weary travelers to get a proper night's sleep, before continuing their travels. The various features of the format do happen to come together in such a way that lends itself to such activities, but that's really just a coincidental side effect.
Steel-Toe-800@reddit
the city I grew up in had a road with a bunch of cheap motels and it was a “hoe strip” with a lot of prostitution and pimping…It was really bad with also drug deals and murders inside the motels…..This was in South Sacramento, the street is called Stockton blvd…..there was also a serial there in the 1980s.
current-seven@reddit
Some hotels/motels are used by prostitutes and their pimps who pay off management to try them do their business. A few of them in my hometown.
Chimaera1075@reddit
That all depends on where the motel is located. In a big city the motel could be haven exactly for the things you’re talking about. And it could be a safe place. In areas near national parks, I’ve found the motels to be perfectly fine.
RedditWidow@reddit
The general idea of a motel for illicit use is because you can come and go without passing through a lobby and having anyone see you. I'm old enough to remember a time when there were sketchy, independently owned roadside motels that accepted cash, so there was no real record of you staying there. You've probably seen that in movies, where a couple walks in and claims to be "Mr and Mrs Smith" but they're having an affair, and they pay in cash so they don't have to give their real names or having anything show up on a bank or credit card statement. Maybe those still exist somewhere, but now motels are mostly corporate chains that insist on having a credit card on record, even if you give them cash up front.
ExampleSad1816@reddit
I used to go to those type of places when I was under age with my girlfriend.
silkywhitemarble@reddit
And your license plate, if you arrive with a car. Probably so security knows you have a room there and aren't parked illegally
stupidstu187@reddit
Some are. My county's sheriff's department shut down a motel here for being full of crime. Between 2019 and its closing in 2023, there were 20 homicides, 38 sex offenses, 28 overdoses, and 11 cases of human trafficking.
DroolHandPuke@reddit
Sounds like rocky mount.
stupidstu187@reddit
Fayetteville, actually!
DirkPitt106@reddit
20 homicides is insane.
stupidstu187@reddit
Yeah, this place was exactly what you think of when you a picture a seedy motel. They finally got around to demolishing it not that long ago.
sadthrow104@reddit
When you realize that from a psychological perspective of the human condition that trauma attracts trauma and chaos attracts chaos (scum and villainy in Mos Eisley metaphor), the existence these kinds of places make sense more and more.
Realnegroid@reddit
Can I get a article link
DirkPitt106@reddit
I was going to say that I'm shocked they could keep anyone to staff it, but if it was really that bad the employees probably had their own problems.
Forlorn_Cyborg@reddit
It really depends on the area, in bad areas anywhere people mind their own business. Unless you hear gunshots and police get called.
I live in a pretty safe suburb and a woman staying was kidnapped right out of her room. The manager tried to stop the kidnapper but was powerless. It was so shocking for this area.
Endy0816@reddit
Sure. Offers anonymity and not an unusual place for many strangers to be.
Footnotegirl1@reddit
I mean... yes, they're a safe space to conduct an affair, generally speaking. Conducting an affair isn't illegal.
There's a huge range of motels and hotels. Some pretty openly have prostitution and drugs going on, Those are by and large sketchy looking and in less than safe parts of the city. Some very quietly have escrots using them and narcotics going on, and those are going to look very ritzy and safe. Most are middle of the road and have tired businessmen and travelling families.
SamCanyon@reddit
Nowhere is safe to do illegal things.
ConcertinaTerpsichor@reddit
It really depends on the motel, but historically, yes.
jrhawk42@reddit
It tends to be a very specific type of motel that is used for stuff like this, and it's kinda going to the wayside since more motels require a credit card, and a drivers license to rent a room these days.
Historical-Composer2@reddit
The No-Tell Motel…
1981denver@reddit
Holiday Innnnnn
PacSan300@reddit
Mistah Worldwide!
scaredofmyownshadow@reddit
With hourly rates.
WoodwifeGreen@reddit
Motels are off the main road and don't require reservations, so they're convenient for brief interactions, but are actually meant for people who are traveling.
There are nice motels, and there are trashy hotels. Not all of them will have seedy activities going on.
Milasnowxo@reddit
Mostly a movie cliché.
Some sketchy stuff happens in cheaper motels, sure—but they’re not “safe zones.” There are cameras, IDs, staff, and police. Most are just normal places to sleep.
Soft_Race9190@reddit
There are probably still some “no tell motels” around.
Gulag_boi@reddit
I bought and did a lot of drugs in motel rooms before getting clean. They’re good for that stuff at least.
Bearbearblues@reddit
In movies, usually there are tells that it’s a cheap motel, not just any motel. And often the vibe is that it’s a little unsafe.
possums101@reddit
What does safe space even mean in this scenario? Do you think these things don’t happen in your country? It’s just a neutral location with privacy and a bed.
AcademicFish4129@reddit
I wouldn’t exactly say “safe”. It’s just that the general vibe of hotels/motels is “we won’t ask, you don’t have to tell us”
Rimurooooo@reddit
Affairs, yes. But I’d rather go anywhere else to buy drugs than a place where people are having affairs or bingers on hard drugs, probably one of the least “safe” places to buy illicit drugs
Head_Razzmatazz7174@reddit
We've got a couple of 'less desirable' motels here. And yes, it happens a lot. I've delivered pizza to those places a few times, and you can tell who is there for 'the evening' and who is dealing. There are a couple of long term residents that use a card, but most of them pay cash and tell me to keep the change, so they can get back to whatever it is they are doing.
Current_Poster@reddit
They don't automatically 'serve' like that (I worked at a 'very affordable motor lodge' for a while and nothing of that kind happened.) But they are inexpensive, not networked the way hotels are (where you can 'build a record' between hotels in a chain, say) and often located on the edge of town (or in places where it was cheap to build, which amounts to about the same thing).
Both_Painter_9186@reddit
One thing no one is mentioning here- motels are used both because they are cheap AND they have direct access to rooms, which is why theyre more likely to be used for affairs or illicit activity.
In a hotel theirs a lobby, elevators, sometimes security, always cameras, sometimes key fobs.
Motel rooms have direct access from the parking lot. So less fuss for anyone to just show up.
IRL- You can usually tell by the street if a motel is sketchy or not. My wife and I do a lot of road trips and stay at motels all the time along the way. 97% of the time it’s been totally fine.
Ken_Thomas@reddit
Literally everyone has mentioned that.
SeaGurl@reddit
I've never had an issue in a motel but I have had people try to enter my room in a hotel. And yet my brain still feels safer at a hotel.
real415@reddit
It’s a big part of the hotel business. Harder to see in high end hotels. Unless you know what to look for. But certain motels make most of their income from short-term guests. Aka “rooms by the hour.”
Jodanmawashigeri@reddit
Do you not have hotels in your country? I can’t imagine it is any different in the US compared to other parts of the world.
Puzzled-Bench2805@reddit
Some of them. Not all motels are the same. Some are cute. Most are just kind of cheap places you can sleep, but being cheap they simply draw a certain crowd at times.
hawkwings@reddit
Afroman shows that your house is not a safe place. A motel isn't safe either, but if the police tear up your motel room, that's not your problem. Inviting criminals to your house isn't safe either, because they might rob you.
funklab@reddit
Some motels are extremely seedy and have a lot of drug use and dealing and prostitution going on.
Some, especially along major interstates are mostly just people driving long distance who need to sleep for the night.
Willing_Ad_699@reddit
Motels are hit n miss. Some you could lick the floors, others doing so will kill you.
jittery_raccoon@reddit
Depends which motel. Motels are just budget places to sleep. Some are normal or even nice. Others are in high crime areas and the owners don't care what goes on as long as they get paid
planesandpancakes@reddit
I’ve only stayed at one motel, which was the Americana Motor Lodge in Flagstaff and it was super nice / fun! They have disco balls in every room and it’s space themed.
Engine_Sweet@reddit
Flagstaff has a few old time motels from the Rt 66 heyday that are kept up OK for tourists
SaguaroDragon@reddit
Yeah, I've stayed at them with my family and they would have a fair number of tourists for the canyon, etc
A lot have been torn down and replaced over the past decade
They were great though for a snow play weekend - could get a run m room and breakfast for $60 when my kids were younger
Robbylution@reddit
The, um, drug and prostitution scene in Flagstaff isn’t exactly Newark.
Soggy_Information_60@reddit
Some local governments put up homeless families or abused spouses in cheap motels for two week stents. Presumably reimbursed by the feds or grants. There's a documentary about these situations in Orlando FL.
FunImprovement166@reddit
Some of the super cheap motels do. A lot of towns have the seedy motel. These aren't happening at most major motel brands.
NYerInTex@reddit
Yes they are. Might be a bit more discreet and a more “professional” and put together set of people - but please, affairs, hookers and blow are prevalent throughout the hotel industry in the U.S.
SaguaroDragon@reddit
Absolutely.
Pretty much every buddy I've had who worked a hotel desk or security noted they had regular locals - either workers or those with secondary partners
The workers they tried to weed out and would communicate with other nearby spots in the chain as they would rotate around, but frequently they would slip through
One had a worker that was always offering service if they would accommodate and make checking in easy and regular
FunImprovement166@reddit
Thanks for your perspective
silkywhitemarble@reddit
Come stay at a Motel 6 in Vegas, or any of the major brands..... or in Phoenix, L.A., Oakland or Reno......
FunImprovement166@reddit
This is Reddit so I'm assuming you mean in one RPG and not irl
silkywhitemarble@reddit
IRL! The motels in those places are pretty janky, because I've stayed in them! You were saying things don't happen at the chain motels, so I'm giving you examples.
FunImprovement166@reddit
Thanks for your perspective
Historical_Oddity@reddit
There are hookers and drugs being “done” in just about every hotel in the country. That’s just a fact. Yes, even the fancy ones. Hell, ESPECIALLY the fancy ones. The seedy ones are for crackheads and hookers, but there are a lot more drugs out there, and wealthy folks also have habits. And they love their escorts..
FunImprovement166@reddit
Thanks for your perspective
yelhmoo@reddit
One of ours got knocked down a couple years ago and the area it was in looks so much better as an empty lot than it ever did as a business.
ymew@reddit
Yes they are.
Educational-Ad608@reddit
It depends on the specific chain of motels, and perhaps their specific location. Even 30 years ago, I checked into a Motel Six that demanded I show them a photo ID before registering. they would accept cash payment in advance, but a credit card was also required. I’ve stayed at independent motels that accept cash with no other requirements, but even those required you to list your license plate number so they could verify that all the cars parked in their lot belonged there.
dadsgoingtoprison@reddit
I’ve stayed in a few motels in my lifetime. Most of them were ok. The best one I stayed in was in Springfield, Missouri. They made it very retro, like the kind you’d find in the 40’s or 50’s. It was on Rt 66 so they were playing it up for the tourists.
_meshy@reddit
I have done a lot of drugs in nice hotels. So it isn't just the low end motels.
ur_mom_n_dem@reddit
When I was working in Pensacola Florida the scurvy hookers found out when we all got off of work and every day a big group of them would hang out in the parking lot by the time we got back they'd be walking around by the door trying to score some ding-a- ling
trafficpylonfarmer@reddit
A proper cheap, seedy motel will let you pay in cash up front and maybe take your word for an ID. No traceable paper trail that you were there. This attracts the sort that need that arrangement - if you can't get a proper ID or Credit Card, or if you don't want your family finding out. Any more reputable place is going to require ID and a card for a deposit.
Also note that motels are often laid out with room doors directly accessible from outside; no lobby or hallways where you and your guests will be noticed.
MNMystery@reddit
True but they don’t really care about affairs. Some do care about drugs or partying though.
notsosecretshipper@reddit
Most places won't want anything going on that will draw the police or cause them to have a reputation that turns away the type of clientele they're trying to get. So if you're obvious about it, they'll kick you out, and if you cause problems multiple times, they can ban you from the property. The nicer the place, the less likely that low-level shady stuff is happening.
That said, the motel staff is not exactly going to check for a marriage license when two people show up together and only need the room for an hour or two. And money always talks, so rich people who can pay for staff to look the other way always get away with more.
Littleboypurple@reddit
Motels do have a slight seedy reputation in the US that the idea of a No-Tell Motel is a common trope in fiction. Yet, it's mostly just writers being writers. Motels are cheap and plentiful. They're simple and basic. That causes them to attract people looking to do drugs, sell drugs, and/or engage in prostitution since it's not like there are cameras in the room. They're perfectly fine establishments
normiepitbullmom@reddit
yes, many motels are used for the purposes of prostitution and drug dealing
Maximum_Dweeb4473@reddit
Doesn’t have to be a seedy motel.
I’ve made good use of my Marriott Platinum status, putting the local Westin and Le Meridien to work as my sex room.
Why? My cats can be annoying, I don’t want to have to wake you up and get you dressed by 9am the next day so you don’t make my housekeeper uncomfortable, I’m an avid recreational shooter and my office also doubles as an armory of sorts and I’m not trying to have to lock everything up on account of getting laid, and I don’t need random women and situationships knowing where to find me when they see I’m well off and realize I’m not looking for anything serious.
Plus, free breakfast in the morning! I’m certainly not waking up to cook, and you certainly aren’t messing up my kitchen.
schpreck@reddit
You gotta use your “feels”.
sneeds_feednseed@reddit
I think most of them are just fine. But there’s def a big portion of them that have some shady shit going on.
SimpleAd1604@reddit
It was definitely a thing 30-ish years ago. I don’t know about today. I once accompanied a local coke dealer to a motel where cocaine was re-packaged for sale. That was a town of about ten-thousand people. My sister had an iillicit affaif, but at a hotel.
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
Safe as any other secluded space. It’s not like they have cameras in the room to know what you are doing.
Suspicious_Effort731@reddit
I lived in one long term on a healthcare assignment. As long as you keep to yourself people don't mess with you. Also drugs and pretty girls that want them are also available at all times
Different_Cherry8326@reddit
Motels were a part of American car culture beginning in the mid 20th century. They have fallen out of favor, especially in the last 30 years or so. The ones which remain often cater to a poor clientele and often serve as housing for people who cannot access typical rentals due to precarious financial status. As a result, motels are frequent sites for all the social ills that go along with poverty.
Alarmed-Extension289@reddit
Not really safe but the term here is private, there's some small level of privacy....i guess. Lets take a common Motel chain like Motel 6 for example. Before Covid you could get a room for $60-$80 a night, it's more now though.
As someone that has frequented Motel 6's alot' you find three types of customers often. Folks that are borderline homeless (some real sad situations), Prostitution/sex work and folks that need to travel for work. The traveling work group is where they're not given alot' of money for per diem so like some contractors/construction folks. If the Motel is pretty bad, you'll see the construction guys take shifts watching the truck and tools over night.
MattieShoes@reddit
They don't spend a lot of time making movies about families on vacation, or people in town for work (unless somebody gets murdered).
So I'm sure illicit drug use happens, but it's not like some random motel feels dangerous.
Also there are often places... Like people get released from prison and end up on a certain road here. That road is cheap motels, pawn shops, hookers, strip clubs, etc. those motels feel sketchy because of who they're catering to. But motels don't feel sketchy as a rule
Cow_Man32@reddit
Not a legal safe place, just usually a hot spot for illegal activities.
champ11228@reddit
It's a broad range. Some are kind of nice and indistinguishable from a decent hotel chain. Others are homeless shelters. So it can be anything in that range.
botulizard@reddit
I grew up near a stretch of highway with a bunch of motels that are exactly what you're describing, but when they were built in the middle of last century, they catered to families on road trips. The shadiest among them have a common trait of advertising the availability of porno movies long into the age of more free pornography than you could ever possibly consume available any time you might want it.
taxidermiedhead@reddit
Hotel/motel rooms are legally protected similarly to houses under the fourth amendment, so it's generally safer to do illegal things in there than it would be to do so anywhere outside. Way less fourth amendment rights in cars, and even less in open/public spaces.
jackfaire@reddit
it's more that it's neutral grounds than a theoretical safe space.
Automatic-Tea-4150@reddit
It worked for my soon-to-be-ex.
DryEyeKitty@reddit
Oh it's truth. There was a notorious one in my home town. Fit the stereotype in every way. They finally nuked it and put in a bowling alley.
amc365@reddit
Depends. In small towns it’s often the only place to sleep over if you’re on a road trip.
SpiceEarl@reddit
I was on a road trip, when I was in college with three friends. It was myself and another guy, his girlfriend, and another girl we were friends with. After driving all day, we stopped at a motel. It wasn’t the fanciest motel, but it looked okay. We should’ve noticed when there was a sign that said, “in-room adult movies”. (This was pre-Internet, in the late 1980s.) We asked the clerk for a room. His bewildered response said at all: “For all of you?” We got the point, quickly, that this was a motel that catered to couples…
buried_lede@reddit
And where would normal travelers stay? Are mist people on the road up to secret business?
devilscabinet@reddit
It certainly happens, but that's not what is probably going on in most of the rooms.
SparkyValentine@reddit
Wretched hives of scum and villainy
NoseDesperate6952@reddit
I don’t like you.
pinniped90@reddit
I'm sorry.
dadasinger@reddit
Many years ago I had a friend whose mom owned a notorious crime den of a motel, rooms by the hour, there was a Waffle House next door and if you went there for a late night breakfast it was obvious shit was always going down, ladies of the evening, etc.
40 years later I'm pretty sure that place was razed long ago, probably a vape store there now.
MuchDevelopment7084@reddit
Safe? Relative to those situations, sure. They aren't exactly hotbeds of police interactions on most nights.
The word you're missing in that descriptor is "Cheap". As in Cheap motel. Seedy motel. Run down motel. etc
The owners tend to...lets say "overlook" some of the activity goin on at them.
Miles_Everhart@reddit
Motels are frequently quite “seedy”, yes.
First_Joke_5617@reddit
Cheap motels. Yes. Some people actually live in cheap motels long term while working jobs.
Help1Ted@reddit
Wait until you hear about Waffle House and 7-11.
Sad_Construction_668@reddit
The safety part is in the fact that many cheap motels dont care, because thy want the business, or in some cases, prefer that sort of activity. If they’re known as a place to do drug deals safely- steady stream, of quiet, well behaved clients that pay in cash.
If theyre known as a place where people go to have affairs- bigger tips for staff, people wont argue about extra charges on the room. also, cash.
If they’re known for being easy to take prostitutes to, they often are getting a cut, and charging for access.
90% of the time, they are perfectly aware of what goes on, and eitger do not care, or think the revenue is worth the risks.
UglyInThMorning@reddit
Not just motels, extended stay hotels can be pretty bad about it too. Definitely smelled a lot of crack at one near boston that I was staying at for work.
General hotel/motel tip- if you get there and the parking lot has a lot of license plates from the state that you’re currently in, go somewhere else.
lorfeir@reddit
Many years ago, my folks were taking me to look at colleges. I remember one trip in particular. We pulled into the parking lot of this one motel, and my father went in to register. My mother and I noticed a woman in the car next to us kind of hiding her face. We thought this a little odd. When my father got back, it turned out the man from that car was ahead of him registering:
Clerk: How long will you be staying with us?
Man: Oh... an hour, maybe.
Ack! We laughed about that one for years.
WellWellWellthennow@reddit
Well, their main purpose is not for that but to provide lodging for over night for people traveling. They are usually along busy traveled roads or in locations like cities or universities that attract visitors. It may happen to be used for other things, but likely most of the time it's not.
Some motels are more used for tgos more than other motels - if they rent by the hour that tells you that's probably most of their business is for affair sex or sex workers and their business model is that they make more money doing it this way. I've heard of these places, but I've never actually seen one. Although there's nothing to stop someone for renting it overnight and only using it for an hour anyway.
ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit
I'm sure people cheat at every type of lodging. It's not the staff's business to police that sort of thing.
There are definitely run down motels that cater to people on the margins, including sex workers, drug addicts, etc.
Theguyoutthere@reddit
Some definitely operate solely for this purpose, even if not intentionally on the motels end.
vacax@reddit
There’s all kinds of motels. From pretty nice mid tier chains down to sketchy places that will be condemned soon but currently sell weekly rooms to hookers and addicts.
Minimalistmacrophage@reddit
yes, there is some truth.
But most occupants in both motels and hotels are not engaged in illegal activity.
It is, in some respects, safer to engage in illegal activity in these venues (to a limited extent).
Crafty-Shape2743@reddit
Some of the best vacation stays have been in small mom & pop motels.
Some of the worst vacation stays as well but when it 1am, beggars can’t be choosers. Just be nice to the front desk person and they might put you in a room away from the action.
Years ago we stayed at a formerly reputable motel where my husband had stayed a decade before. At that time it catered to people in town for legislative work. Checked in around midnight. My how it had changed…It was very busy with the ladies and ladyboys. We were tired but didn’t want to drive around looking for a better option. We took the time to be cordial to the night auditor. We were obviously not the usual and he treated us well. We got a descent room, away from the hourly trade and he told us to park our car under the security camera and he would make sure no one messed with it. He knew all the regulars and their habits. Clean, quiet room, no bedbugs, good night sleep.
Euphoric_Loquat_8651@reddit
It is a very particular motel that fits the bill, but they fo exist.
pinksparkleberry@reddit
They do not. The majority point of motels in the U.S. is that same as everywhere else. A place for travelers to stay. This reeks of trolling.
challengeseniorz@reddit
We sold coke out of a hotel. I've smoked crack in several hotels. It's common.
neoprenewedgie@reddit
Just so we're clear on the difference between a hotel and a motel: in a hotel, your room door (typically) opens to an indoor hallway. You usually have to walk through a lobby to get to your room. In a motel, your door opens to the outside world. So your clients/customers don't have to pass through any security checks, extra cameras, people in general.
So yes, motels make for an ideal base of operations.
Doombrunch@reddit
They're called "sneak spots" and "no tell motels."
BreadPuddding@reddit
I mean, the staff don’t care who you’re fucking, it’s not their business. Depending on the quality, price, location, and management of the particular property, the staff may or may not ignore obvious prostitution or drug dealing. If you’re discreet about it, you can probably use a hotel room to hand over drugs or small smuggled items, depending on the type.
Fuzzy-Simple-370@reddit
Depends on the motel and the area (area is the big thing tbh). Some are fine, cheap versions of hotels. Some are just like what you see in the movies, sometimes worse.
CuppaJoe11@reddit
Motels offer cheap, private rooms, usually on-demand and without people bothering you. They also happen to have easily accessible rooms.
As you can imagine, this is highly desirable for people wanting to conduct shady business at a lower level (like street drug dealing, prostitution, etc.)
Hotels are far more expensive and private. They are therefore more commonly used for crimes that dont interact with your average person, like human trafficking or just general criminal meetups.
Saskita@reddit
Some of them are
FireHammer09@reddit
Ive been allegedly paid $500 to get my dick sucked in one of those before
Bazoun@reddit
A lot of Motels have direct access to parking lots so less oversight on who is in what room. Easier to sneak around.
gofindyour@reddit
I (37 f) stayed in a motel in PA once on a solo road trip about 5 years ago.
The walls were like paper thin and I could hear multiple people having sex in the next room. They were up so late and they were loud. Also MANY flies in my room. I almost left but I was scared to go outside because a bunch of guys were all hanging out outside too.
I'll never forget it, thankfully now I just look back and laugh. This was really the only rough motel I've ever stayed in, and I travel in the US a lot.
jf737@reddit
People tend to mind their own business at places like that
cballowe@reddit
Motels in general are just a usually cheap place to stay. The main thing about them is that they have, essentially, direct access to the rooms from the parking. Check in at the desk, get your key, then park by your door and go in. The fact that you're not going through a lobby with your less savory aquaintences means that the desk clerk never sees you with anybody.
They're also less expensive to maintain and so in the more run down parts of town, if there's any lodging it tends toward the motel form factor.
NYerInTex@reddit
Generally speaking, yes. If what you do doesn’t extend beyond the walls of your room (other than some sex noise - but mostly parties, loud music, illicit smells) then the U.S. hotel industry is built largely on anonymity.
The nicer the hotel the more professional / put together the clientele (and the prettier and less outward street hooker looking the affair partners and escorts), and the better grade yayo you have, but it all goes down.
FWIW, American hotels, especially nice large ones in major cities, often have large lobbies and it’s difficult to manage everyone coming in and out even as security is there. In Mexico in the other hand, you have more scrutiny, sometimes have to sign in guests etc or have narrow pass ways to eliminate some of this element.
donnacus@reddit
This absolutely does happen, but not to the degree that movies would have you believe. My guess is that a huge majority of motel/hotel guests are just people conducting normal activities away from home. That would be far too boring for Hollywood .
ChemistRemote7182@reddit
Yes, you find the cheapest shitty hotel possible, blood stains, cig burns, broken mirror and a cracked windows, etc, and fuck you'll have random bi men selling drugs asking you to come to their rooms. Polite no thank you but great compliment.
Throwaway_carrier@reddit
I play in a band that used to travel a lot.
We booked a room at this place in Athens, GA and the whole place was so nasty and falling apart/moldy; all the employees were high on something but very friendly.
For a bunch of twenty something’s that were heavily smoking weed and drinking, we had a fun and judgement free blast till the wee hours of the morning!!
Yes, sketchy motels are totally a thing. I think we only paid like eighty bucks between the six of us to stay there.
dontforgettowriteme@reddit
Compared to hotels, motels are typically located in more isolated areas or right off the highway, they're typically cheaper than hotels, and historically and by design, they cater to a more transient crowd, like drivers who need a place to stop and rest on a long roadtrip for a single night (motor + hotel = motel).
They don't have to be a hotbed of criminal or illicit activity, but you can see why they might be appealing given what I listed, and I do know of people who have used motels for some of what you asked about, but I'm from a more rural area. So like most things you see on TV, there's reality to it, but it doesn't mean always.
DetroitsGoingToWin@reddit
Yeah, a lot of motels are sketchy as fuck.
Auntie_Venom@reddit
It happens in hotels just as much…
Though not all motels are dens for Ill repute, some are simply a place to stop on a long road trip for a few hours of sleep.
JellyfishFit3871@reddit
I worked in hotels and motels for quite a bit. Overnights quite a bit. Some sketchier than others.
I didn't want you to do things that would compromise the safety of anyone else on property, but otherwise? Not my business.
So yeah, if I suspected you were dealing drugs, I'd get involved. If you were having a liaison? Why would I care?
Subliminal_Kiddo@reddit
There was a motel in my town that had multiple meth labs operating inside of it. I know a family who rented a room to sleep in during the holidays, there was a bust that night and they had to spend hours in observation for just being in the vicinity of the labs.
So make of that what you will.
QnsConcrete@reddit
It’s a result of the distinction between a motel and a hotel. With a motel, once you check in you never need to pass through the lobby again. So it’s easier to just go from your car to your room without interacting with anyone.
With a hotel, you have to pass through the lobby and presumably by a staff member or two so if you’re doing something illegal someone is more likely to see it.
veritable-truth@reddit
there is truth to it yes.
Impossible_Breakfast@reddit
Definitely a real thing in a lot of places. I had the joy of watching multiple idiots I sort of knew shoot up and pop pills in a Motel 6. I did not partake and got out of there shortly after.
Lopsided-Public8205@reddit
I thought it was a movie thing until I served on a grand jury. I learned a roadside motel 5 miles from my house was a 24x7 meth dispensary.
largos7289@reddit
Motels are the quick stay places that don't have a lobby to go through, you just park right outside your room. Are you safe in them? yea for the most part. Yu just don't stay at a seedy looking one.
AleroRatking@reddit
No. Its quite typical. Especially with affairs and prostitution. And especially those that have hourly rates.
I remember in college a group of us went on a trip and we went with the cheapest hotel to save money. And it was exactly like that
Combat__Crayon@reddit
I played club volleyball in college and we had a tournament the same weekend as some other big event in that city and there were no hotels left. We found rooms at a place with hourly rates and got the honeymoon suite, that had a tub in the room and ceiling mirrors. Luckily we were able to find rooms in a normal hotel the 2nd night.
DonNadie2468@reddit
I think it's less common than some are saying. Sure, there are fleabag, pay-by-the-hour motels.
But there are plenty of budget motels at the side of highways (many belong to chains like Motel 6) which are perfectly okay places for people who are on the road to stop and spend the night.
Theomnipresential@reddit
https://www.lowellsun.com/2014/08/26/after-nearly-60-years-motel-caswell-checks-out-in-tewksbury/
this was a motel in the town I grew up. it's wild the owner used to claim they didn't know anything was going on there when that was the only reputation that motel had, and used to offer hourly rates
andrew2018022@reddit
The Berlin Turnpike, in my area, is littered with seedy motels and they’re all used for trafficking drugs and humans. They all offer hourly rates and if you’re ever bored, I recommend you read some yelp reviews of some of these motels. Truly gross.
kenster77@reddit
Motels are great for illicit affairs and prostitution. My favorite was the All The Way Inn.
Asparagus9000@reddit
It's common, don't know how safe it actually is.
securityburger@reddit
It honestly doesn't matter where it happens. The director may just want to emphasize the dirtiness of it all with the location, but I'd imagine the privacy is higher in a more luxurious hotel
TheMrsH1124@reddit
I bargain shopped for a cheap hotel twice in my life. Nope. Gonna spend the money next time . . . Lucky we didn't get bedbugs
SlabBulkbeef@reddit
I love being In crappy no-tells with drop ceilings. You’d be surprised what you may find
leavesandgrassart@reddit
Motels are generally considered a bit sketchy while hotels (typically) are considered to be a bit nicer.
A motel near me had people living in it who were cooking meth so they had to burn the whole place down. 😅
Not every motel is like this but many can be.
OptimisticPlatypus@reddit
I don’t think many consider them “safe”. A lot of the old school style motels are in older not so nice neighborhoods resulting in low nightly rates that attract this type of behavior.